Today in the Commons I forced the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt MP, to answer an urgent question on the Trust Special Administrator’s report on South London Healthcare NHS Trust and the NHS in South East London (published today).

I questioned the powers of the Trust Special Administrator to try to solve the financial problems of the South London Healthcare Trust by destroying Lewisham Hospital Trust:

“120,000 people use Lewisham A&E each year. Over 30,000 children use the Children’s A&E. Over 4000 babies are born in the hospital each year. There is no current capacity at any of the other hospitals in the area to provide for these patients.”

In response the Secretary of State said that any reconfiguration had to satisfy the following four points:

1. Support from GP commissioners

2. Strengthened public and patient engagement

3. Clarity on the clinical evidence base; and

4. Consistency with current and prospective patient choice

The Secretary of State appears to accept that this is a reconfiguration but it’s clear that none of his four tests are met by these proposals. This will be the basis of our continuing campaign to save the hospital. “

The three Lewisham MPs will be meeting urgently with the Secretary of State to put all the arguments raised by local experts and the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign.